Do I need a heat shield?

[PIke of the Lake]

Hi everyone,

We just bought a small cabin in Eastern Ontario and I was up this past week. The cabin has a small wood oven and it is 2 feet from the wall. I notice that when the oven heats up, the vapor barrier gets really hot and the whole cabin starts to smell like plastic.

Should I create some kind of heat shield around the oven? Could I just get some bricks and stack them by the wall to protect the wall?

Many thanks,
Dale.

 

[Simonkenton]

What's with the insulation and the plastic? Haven't y'all invented sheet rock yet in Canada?

 

[bholler]

Hi everyone,

We just bought a small cabin in Eastern Ontario and I was up this past week. The cabin has a small wood oven and it is 2 feet from the wall. I notice that when the oven heats up, the vapor barrier gets really hot and the whole cabin starts to smell like plastic.

Should I create some kind of heat shield around the oven? Could I just get some bricks and stack them by the wall to protect the wall?

Many thanks,
Dale.

WHat stove is it? What are the required clearances to combustibles?

And what is the requirement for floor protection many times that type of mat is not enough protection.

By the looks of it I would guess that you need 36" which means you would need a ventilated heat shield which can be any noncombustible material like sheetmetal cement board or even bricks spaced off the wall 1" with a 1" gap top and bottom to allow air to circulate. That would get you a 2/3 reduction so you would only need 1'.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

As post 3 said. Look up the stove and get the technical data and figure out the clearances
Good luck

 

[begreen]

Welcome, glad you stopped by. You are right to be cautious. I'm not positive but it looks like a Vogelzang boxwood stove, maybe the BX26 or perhaps a US Stove Logwood? There should be a UL testing plate on the stove rear that will have the make and model. It's important to know the exact make and model to look up the proper clearances and floor protection.

The clearances for the US Stove Logwood 1269E are 23" to the side and 14" to the rear. The Vogelzang Boxwood's clearances are 36" side and rear. Personally I would err on the side of caution with this stove and follow bholler's suggestion to put up wall shielding on the side and rear walls surrounding the stove. These stoves have coarse air control and can easily be overfired. They get very hot when that happens. You want a good measure of protection there. The floor protection may also be inadequate. The Boxwood needs a high level of insulation protection on the floor with a type 2 rating of R=3.0. The US Stove needs an R=2.0 protection. Can't say for sure but the protector that is on the floor looks to be a very simple type 1 protector. In the least I would put a layer of brick on top of the present floor protector to provide better shielding there.

Also, I would not leave the stove unattended. Some are made from poor quality, thin castings that may fail unexpectedly. For ID, here is a close up that has been lightened.

 

[fishki]

I'm going with the Vogelzang "Lil Sweetie" Model BX22EL. Bottom heat shields?

Here's an Owners Manual for the BX22EL if it is that stove.

 

[jetsam]

Before investing all that work, a better question might be, "Is that the stove I want?"

A better stove wouldn't need to be too expensive, would be a better, safer heater, and you could pick one that had lower required clearances, too.

(Also, I would stop burning that thing if I could smell it melting the plastic sheeting behind the paneling. )

 

[PIke of the Lake]

Wow, I really want to thank everyone for the quick and generous replies. Your help and support is greatly appreciated.

What's with the insulation and the plastic? Haven't y'all invented sheet rock yet in Canada?

Haha, going into Central Frontenac (where the cabin is located) is a bit like stepping back in time.

WHat stove is it? What are the required clearances to combustibles?

And what is the requirement for floor protection many times that type of mat is not enough protection.

By the looks of it I would guess that you need 36" which means you would need a ventilated heat shield which can be any noncombustible material like sheetmetal cement board or even bricks spaced off the wall 1" with a 1" gap top and bottom to allow air to circulate. That would get you a 2/3 reduction so you would only need 1'.

Thanks for the response. For the bottom to clear 1" from the floor could I just use half of one brick for support or do I need some special spacers?

Welcome, glad you stopped by. You are right to be cautious. I'm not positive but it looks like a Vogelzang boxwood stove, maybe the BX26 or perhaps a US Stove Logwood? There should be a UL testing plate on the stove rear that will have the make and model. It's important to know the exact make and model to look up the proper clearances and floor protection.

The clearances for the US Stove Logwood 1269E are 23" to the side and 14" to the rear. The Vogelzang Boxwood's clearances are 36" side and rear. Personally I would err on the side of caution with this stove and follow bholler's suggestion to put up wall shielding on the side and rear walls surrounding the stove. These stoves have coarse air control and can easily be overfired. They get very hot when that happens. You want a good measure of protection there. The floor protection may also be inadequate. The Boxwood needs a high level of insulation protection on the floor with a type 2 rating of R=3.0. The US Stove needs an R=2.0 protection. Can't say for sure but the protector that is on the floor looks to be a very simple type 1 protector. In the least I would put a layer of brick on top of the present floor protector to provide better shielding there.

Also, I would not leave the stove unattended. Some are made from poor quality, thin castings that may fail unexpectedly. For ID, here is a close up that has been lightened.

View attachment 195533

Very helpful, thank you. I will check the model number next time I go up (in a few weeks). I will be sure to apply a layer of brick on the floor protector for better shielding. I was a bit nervous about using it last week so I did make sure to keep an eye on it the whole time.

This gives me some nice directions to take from here. I will be sure to get the model number and then download the manual for further details.

Thanks again for all the help,
Dale.

 

[Simonkenton]

It probably smells like plastic because the walls are covered with plastic.